Smoker&#39;s ashtray



July 30, 1963 s. P. GARSON 3,099,270

SMOKER'S ASHTRAY Filed Aug. 25,- 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l 6 (3 0 0 0 Q g g20/ QQQ 0 FlG 2 STANLEY P. GARSON TTORNEY IINVENTOR. I

July 30, 1963 s. P. GARSON 3,099,270

SMOKERS ASHTRAY Filed Aug. 25. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H M 6a W 20 2o fSTANLEY P. GARSON INVENTOR,

2o 24 F|G 7 BY A TTORNE Y United States Patent 3,099,270 SMOKERS ASHTRAYStanley P. Garson, 168 Boston St, Seattle, Wash. Filed Aug. 25, 196i,Ser. No. 134,902 2 claims. (ct. 131-240 This present invention relatesto the general art of ashtrays which are so constructed as to normallyfully contain the combustible coals of the cigarettes as they may :beproduced as the cigarette is lying on the ashtray. This present ashtrayis constructed with a perforated metal top having a curvature which byexperiment and extended use has been determined as the curvature whichwill produce a sliding action wherein the ashtray tends to cause thecigarette to gravitate downwardly toward the center of the tray as itmay burn over a reasonably long period. This application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 725,353,filed March 31, 1958, and now United States Patent No. 3,006,349 whichissued on October 31, 1961.

In smoking of cigarettes, particularly during periods in which the usersmay be playing games and the like or during extended discussions as in abusiness office, a great number of times it becomes desirable to lay thecigarette down on an ashtray and to leave it there for extended periods,after which it may be desirable to recover it for further enjoyment. Inthe past, numerous styles of ashtrays have been produced, many of a veryfire safe character in which the cigarrette is deposited in a chamberwith a top closure. There are, on the other hand, simpler forms ofashtrays that are in effect saucers which give a depository that doesnot necessarily hold the cigarette in any one place and does not holdthe coals which may break off of the cigarette and perhaps be blownaboutif a sudden draft occurs from an opened door. These types of ashtraysare probably the most dangerous of all and numerous families have beensuffocated by fires started in upholstered furniture through the use ofsuch ashtrays. Even where no serious consequences such as injury or lossof human life have resulted the nonconfining type of ashtrays has beenthe incipient cause of many fires which have damaged furniture or leftholes in expensive floor coverings. This present ashtray has beencreated in an endeavor to overcome the dangerous mishandling ofcigarettes, particularly those laid aside for presumably very shortperiods and which may be recovered for further use by their owners or,as often happens, may be forgotten.

The principal object of this invention therefore is to provide an easilyportable ashtray of a type that insures the maximum safety for thehandling of cigarettes that have been laid aside presumably on atemporary basis.

A further object of this present invention is to provide an ashtray thatis easily portable, is neat in appearance and is provided with aperforated top in which the perforations are holes disposed very closelytogether in a manner to :give the maximum number of holes in substantialradial alignment.

A further object of this invention is to provide a perforated top for anashtray that is easily removable from the In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of an ashtray constructed in accordance withthe invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the ashtray top andthe position of the coal end of the cigarette;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken through an earlier form of thispresent ashtray;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale showing a modifiedform for joining the dished portion of the ashtray top, the bezel of thetop and the manner in which it engages the vertical side wall of theashtray base;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 5 illustrating a furthermodified form, this being a fragmentary view in section and on anenlarged scale;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary view taken along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 1; andillustrating, on an enlarged scale, the relative sizes of a cigaretteand the ashtray perforations;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical cross-sectional vie-w showing diagrammaticallythe curvature of the cigarette tray top.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference charactersindicate like parts, the numeral Iii designates generally the top ofthis present ashtray and i2 designates generally the bottom portion ofthe ashtray. Top It? of the ashtray has in effect two parts which aremerged together in the manufacture. It consists of the concaveperforated screen shown generally by the numeral 14 and forming acontinuation of the bezel 16 which sup- .ports the screen.

Top 10 has, as part of the rim or bezel 16, an inwardly and downwardlydirected portion I8 which is unperforated and provides a surface pitchedat an angle which has been determined as adequate to insure that thecigarette C will slide downwardly toward the center of the ashtray asthe ash burns and shortens the length of the cigarette remaining.

Experience has indicated that any wide surface of solid metal tends toconduct the heat away from a hot cigarette body and to cause aprecipitation of the tars which are released from the cigarettecomponents as it burns when the cigarette is not under the draft of asmoker. In this connection it has been found that the density of thetobacco of the average cigarette offers so much resistance to airpassing through as it burns on an ashtray that the products ofcombustion are dissipated immediately into the air and do not passthrough the cigarette as they would of course, if the smoker weresmoking it. Preference is made to FIGURES 1 and 2 and these may be takenin contrast with the showings of FIGURES 3 and 4 which show the earlierform of this ashtray as illustrated in my co-pending application SerialNo. 725,353. It should be noted in FIGURES -1 and 2 that the holes 24}are smaller in diameter than the cigarettes C with which they are to beused. This, when the tray is used with the ordinary American type ofcigarette, has been determined as A of an inch as a preferred diameterfor a round hole and an equivalent area for other shapes of which thetriangular opening is next in preference. Primarily this makes itimpossible for the coal or lighted end of a cigarette to be pressedthrough any of the holes which would be undesirable and unnecessary asthe cover can be and is easily raised so that the cigarette may bedeposited in base 12 if that is the smokers wish. This desirablerelationship is illustrated in FIGURE 2. The holes as indicated areplaced as closely together as mechanical strength permits, it beingnecessary that metal Webs as 22 and 24 be provided so as to givestrength and substance to the screen. It is desirable however that thesebe kept to a minimum width of 3 of an inch, substantially asillustrated, because this proportion has been found adequate to resistall distortion if a person should press heavily on a cigarette inextinguishing it, but more important, the absence of a mass of metalunder the burning portion of the cigarette C precludes the precipitationof the tars and the like on the metal screen. Most smokers have had theexperience of picking up a cigarette that had been placed on a coldsurface for some time to find that the underside of the cigarette was socontaminated with tars precipitated on the outside of the paper as torender the cigarette undesirable for further use. With this presentproportioning of metal in the screen portion of this ashtray theseunpleasant results do not occur.

In order to assist one in making an ashtray after the teachings of thisinvention the curvature of the dished or concaved portion of the ashtrayis shown in FIGURE 8 in which actual dimensions are given. This is onthe premise that the over-all diameter of the ashtray is five inches andthe average length of a partially smoked cigarette is 2 and /2 inches.It is not intended that these exact dimensions must be used but they aresubmitted as an example of proportioning that has proven to be verysatisfactory and this proportioning should be followed if any increasein diameter is made. It is not desirable to reduce the diameter of theashtray below five inches for the ordinary cigarettes as exemplified bythe more popular bands of American cigarettes.

With particular reference to the proportions shown in FIGURE 8, theconcaved portion is formed to provide a surface of approximatelyspherical segment form which is preferably approximately equal in radiusto 70% of the external diameter of the ashtray. A specific structurehaving this form and proportion and its function is shown withparticular clarity in FIGURE 2 where it will be seen that theapproximately spherical structure perruns a burning cigarette to besupported only at two points spaced apart along the length thereofwhereby contact between the undersurface of the burning cigarette andthe metal portions of the concave perforated plate member 14 is reducedto a minimum to avoid the undesirable condensation of tar on thecigarette.

There are various ways of producing a desirable final shape for top 10and throughout the drawings of FIG- URES 2, and 6, a preferred form isshown in FIGURE 2 and alternate forms in FIGURES 5 and 6. These lattertwo forms may prove desirable for certain types of manufacture and aresubmitted merely as a guide for this purpose. The modified form shown inFIGURE 4 is illustrative of the earlier form of structure employed inthis type of ash tray by this present applicant.

Referring to FIGURE 2 it is normally preferable that the screen portion14 and the bezel portion 16 be joined together during manufacture as bybrazing or the like so that the :bezel member 16 can be made of thickermaterial than is desirable for the screen portion 14 for the reason aspreviously noted that it is desirable to avoid a heavy mass of metalthat tends to cool the cigarette to an undesirable extent.

The base 12 may be variously constructed. The form shown in FIGURE 2employs a base having a relatively sharp corner 36 and this presents avery pleasing form of ashtray and one which can be easily constructed byusual production drawing methods. The upper margin of the base 12 asshown in FIGURE 2 is provided with a stepped joint at 32 which gives apleasing appearance and in addition provides a desirable snug fit forthe cover onto the base, so that if the tray is knocked down it will notcome apart and possibly spill hot embers on valuable floor coverings orfurniture. In FIGURES 5' and 6- alternate forms are shown at 40 wherethe recessed joint 42 is employed but the base portion 44 is made of asingle weight of material and formed at 46 to provide the rest requiredfor the engagement of lip portion 49 of cover 10a.

In FIGURE 6 a further modification is formed in which the base 54 isproduced by a relatively simple drawing operation having a relativelylarge annular corner 56 where the radius is given as ample to make thedrawing operation simple and to make it possible to thus supply thisdesirable type of ashtray in the lower price ranges. In FIGURE 6 a minormodification of the bezel portion of cover 1013 is shown in which thethinner metal of the screen member is extended up and then down eitherby pressing or spinning so as to provide the overlapping sealing portion57 which fits outside of the base portion and presents a definite toprim with a defined step at 53. Throughout the new FIGURES 2, 5 and 6 awall, designated generally by W, is provided which in addition to' theheight of the bezel 16, will insure a cigarette depository space underthe lowermost portion of the dished and perforated top.

In using my ashtray, the smoker may position the cigarette C after theshowing of FIGURES 1 or 2. However, because of the construction of thetop 1, if the cigarette is dropped on the perforated portion of thescreen with the coal end inwardly, the curvature will naturally causethe cigarette to come to rest in a generally radial position. Theprincipal weight of the cigarette will be supported by the coal on itsend. As combustion continues the coal is progressively reduced to ashwhich drops through the perforation and the point of support for thecigarette is changed and it slides downwardly until a new and oftenlower point of support is secured.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. An ashtray designed to safely hold a burning cigarette while avoidingcondensation of tar on the cigarette comprising: (1) a circular basehaving a closed bottom and an upstanding cylindrical wall; (2) acircular top removably secured to said upstanding cylindrical wall, saidtop comprising a concave perforated plate of approximately sphericalsegment form having a radius of curvature approximately equal to of thediameter of said cylindrical wall, thereby enabling a burning cigaretteto have its coal end supported by one of the perforations in said platewhile said cigarette is supported at a total of only two spaced apartpoints along its length.

2. The ashtray recited in claim 1 in which said con cave perforatedplate is a metal plate perforated with holes smaller than the diameterof a cigarette and at least A inch in diameter spaced sufiiciently toprovide mechanical strength for supporting the load imposed by acigarette being extinguished.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,829,844 Altmayer Nov. 3, 1931 2,199,205 Litschgi Apr. 30, 19402,574,813 Cadrain Nov. 13, 1951 2,786,476 Garson Mar. 26, 1957 FOREIGNPATENTS 357,003 Germany Aug. 14, 1922 254,466 Great Britain July 8, 1926

1. AN ASHTRAY DESIGNED TO SAFELY HOLD A BURNING CIGARETTE WHILE AVOIDINGCONDENSATION OF TAR ON THE CIGARETTE COMPRISING: (1) A CIRCULAR BASEHAVING A CLOSED BOTTOM AND AN UPSTANDING CYLINDRICAL WALL; (2) ACIRCULAR TOP REMOVABLY SECURED TO SAID UPSTANDING CYLINDRICAL WALL, SAIDTOP COMPRISING A CONCAVE PERFORATED PLATE OF APPROXIMATELY SPHERICALSEGMENT FORM HAVING A RADIUS OF CURVATURE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO 70% OFTHE DIAMETER OF SAID CYLINDRICAL WALL, THEREBY ENABLING A BURNINGCIGARETTE TO